Game of Tropes

Game of Tropes: Subversion of Medieval Ideals in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire MA Thesis Literary Studies Student name: Luuk Verweij Student number: 1394223 Date: 1 July 2017 First Reader: Dr. M.H. Porck Second Reader: Dr. K.A. Murchison Leiden University, Department of English Literature and Culture Verweij 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 Chapter One – G.R.R. Martin’s Feminist Heroines and Medievalism ...................................... 5 Chapter Two – “Life Is Not A Song” : Chivalry and Romance In A Song Of Ice And Fire ... 17 Chapter Three – Chivalry and Honour In A Song Of Ice And Fire .......................................... 28 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 40 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 44 Verweij 3 INTRODUCTION George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire incorporates many elements that make the genre of fantasy so appealing, such as dragons, zombies, magic, wars, kings, and knights. Scholars have observed that Martin’s world is influenced greatly by medieval history and literature. Carolyn Larrington, for instance, states that “A Song of Ice and Fire constructs its fantasy out of familiar building blocks […] chiselled out of the historical and imaginary medieval past” (1). Larrington points out that Martin draws on both early medieval and high medieval history, incorporating into his work warrior tribes like the Anglo-Saxons as well as important themes from a later medieval period, such as chivalry (2). From the twelfth century onwards, Larrington explains, chivalry became concerned with courtesy, good manners, and respect towards women (121). In spite of this medieval knightly ideal, many of Martin’s princes and knights lack manners and treat women badly: Martin does not only incorporate these medieval “building blocks” into his own work, he also deviates from them. Sansa Stark’s story exemplifies this deviation: always dreaming about knights and princes, she is beside herself with excitement when she is betrothed to crown prince Joffrey. As the story unfolds, however, Joffrey turns out to be rather vile and sadistic. Eventually, Sansa is forced to accept that her romantic view of kingship and chivalry was far removed from reality. The different approach to chivalry that Martin offers is not the only way in which A Song of Ice and Fire contrasts with conventional medieval values. A number of scholars, such as Larrington and Buchanan, have commented on Martin’s use of strong female characters. Daenerys Targaryen, Asha Greyjoy, and Brienne of Tarth are all examples of women not behaving according to the roles they would normally have in a medievalist society like Westeros. Crucially, by presenting the story in a pseudo-medieval world, but at the same time bringing down many of the medieval core values and social structures, Martin seems to offer a critique of these medieval ideals. As Martin is not the first author to make use of medieval imagery in fantasy literature, it is important to address the field of medievalism. Kim Selling describes medievalism as “both an interest in the Middle Ages and a type of social movement characterised by and adoption or recreation of particular aspects of the medieval world” (211). Selling also points out the correlation between fantasy literature and medievalism which she calls “fantastic neo- medievalism”, naming J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings an archetypal example of a work of high fantasy giving “a very selective and positive image of the Middle Ages” (212- 214). This thesis will consider Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire from a medievalist Verweij 4 perspective, placing the saga within a tradition of authors who, like Martin, have used fantasy literature as a vessel to either praise or criticise medieval ideals. This thesis will analyse how Martin’s representation of gender roles and chivalry may be interpreted as subverting the medieval ideals that Martin so clearly based himself on. Each chapter will deal with a particular theme, comparing the conventional medieval ideal to Martin’s representation in A Song of Ice and Fire. Because the portrayal of gender in A Song of Ice and Fire is a popular topic among scholars, I will take that as a starting point and discuss the portrayal of women such as Daenerys and Asha in the first chapter. Afterwards, both the second and third chapter will deal with the concept of chivalry. Chapter two will focus on the romantic aspect of chivalry, focusing on Sansa’s romantic expectations of the court of King’s Landing. The representation of chivalry in A Song of Ice and Fire will be discussed further in chapter three, arguing that in Westeros knights often fail to live up to their vows. Altogether, this thesis argues that Martin consistently subverts both medieval ideals and tropes of medievalist fantasy fiction, providing a harshly realistic approach to medievalism. This thesis will provide a close reading of the five volumes in the A Song of Ice and Fire series that have been published so far. Secondary sources on medievalism will also be taken into account, including Larrington’s Winter is Coming: The Medieval World of Game of Thrones. Other examples of secondary sources that will be considered is Richard Kaeuper’s work on chivalry in medieval society, as well as Jane Tolmie’s article on feminist medievalist fantasy fiction. I will make use of a source criticism approach, summed up by Risden as follows: “finding writers’ sources allows us to see what they studied, what they brought from those studies directly into their own work, what they used but changed, and what they wanted to challenge or correct” (20-21). In other words, by comparing Martin to his medieval and medievalist sources, we can see how he deviates from his sources to problematize the medieval. Verweij 5 CHAPTER ONE – G.R.R. MARTIN’S FEMINIST HEROINES AND MEDIEVALISM In an interview on The Strombo Show, presenter George Stroumboulopoulos asked George R.R. Martin about Martin’s portrayal of women. Stroumboulopoulos states that Martin “write[s] women really well and really different” (Strombo 18:41), and asks Martin where that particular approach towards women comes from, to which Martin replies: “you know, I’ve always considered women to be people” (18:53). Although Martin’s reply may be seen as facetious, because it is obvious that women are people, it is clear that according to George Stroumboulopoulos there is something striking about women in A Song of Ice and Fire, and that they have a distinctive quality. This chapter will analyse how Martin’s portrayal of women in A Song of Ice and Fire compares to that in other medievalist fantasy fiction. Firstly, as Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium is a landmark for this type of fiction, the role of women in Tolkien’s work will briefly be discussed. Jane Tolmie points out that after Tolkien, the extensive use of mediævalia in relation to fantasy was popularised and became pervasive within the genre (148). This chapter will take Tolmie’s article as the basis for discussing the role of the feminist hero in contemporary medievalist fantasy, comparing the elements of feminist medievalist fiction to the representation of Martin’s female characters in A Song of Ice and Fire. The Women of Tolkien: Empowered or Powerless? Tolkien’s Middle-earth works have been analysed by numerous critics among many different fields, and feminist scholars are no exception. Aline Ripley indicates that scholars are divided when it comes to gender roles in Tolkien’s works. Ripley points out that feminist critics have commented on Tolkien’s “membership in all-male groups like the Inklings and the TCBS” (202) and argue that Tolkien was negative towards feminism, having a conventional view on the role of women (Ripley 202). Feminist critics have argued that Tolkien in the creation of his world “chose not to redefine the role of women but instead preserved the gender hierarchy of his own familiar patriarchal society” (Ripley 202). In Tolkien’s fiction, according to critics, the female characters are underrepresented and “nothing more than traditional stereotypes” (Ripley 202). According to some critics, such as Candice Frederick and Sam McBride, not even Galadriel and Éowyn are able to “fulfill their potential of being active, non-traditional heroines” (Ripley 202). However, several critics express a different view on Tolkien’s representation of women. Nancy Enright, for example, while admitting that female characters are few in number, states Verweij 6 that they “are very important in the defining of power” (93). Enright also comments on the role of Éowyn, who “as a woman […] has been patronizingly kept from activities that she proves herself to have been more than capable of performing” (Enright 104). Enright claims that, through Gandalf’s praise of Éowyn1, Tolkien expressed sensitivity “to the pain felt by a woman such as Éowyn living in a male-dominated world” (104). Though it is true that some female characters in Middle-earth are empowered, gender roles are not emphasised in Tolkien’s works. As Enright argues, “it is only through a careful examination of Tolkien’s depiction of power that the role of his female characters can be fully understood” (95). It is clear that Tolkien’s legendarium is indeed male-centred, and that almost all female characters are not part of the main characters: there is no place for a woman among the Fellowship. Arwen, who almost solely functions as a love interest for one of the male heroes (Ripley 202), is virtually omitted from the main narrative, and though she is of major significance to Aragorn, their story is told only through an appendix. George R.R. Martin’s representation of women in A Song of Ice and Fire differs from Tolkien in a number of ways.

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